iPad Survives 100,000+ Foot Fall From Space

How did they get it to stabilize on the drop? Somehow they knew that it wouldn't land on the face (screen). I also have questions about why it didn't end up further than 70 yards from where it was launched.
 
While it sounds crazy, was it really necessary to drop it from 100k feet? I am sure it reached terminal velocity much faster than 100k feet.

Nonetheless, I am sure it was a fun experiment.
 
Jaybird180 said:
How did they get it to stabilize on the drop? Somehow they knew that it wouldn't land on the face (screen). I also have questions about why it didn't end up further than 70 yards from where it was launched.
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ajstoner21 said:
I'm also a little surprised it didnt go further than 70 yards away....
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It landed farther than 70 yards away. The way the video was edited is somewhat confusing. They were getting out of a vehicle and then said "ok the gps tracker says we are less than 70 yards away". It doesn't say they are at the same place they launched.
 
The terrain where it was recovered looks very different from the terrain where it was launched from so we can sefely state that it travelled horizontally far more than 70 yards. On the other hand all the things that were still attached to the Ipad shifted the CG and caused it probably to fall certain way and not cause any damage to the screen. I dropped my Ipad already a few times on a hardwood floor from not more than 3 ft high and besides a slight nick in the aluminum housing there was no crack, still works fine. And even the guy who dropped it from 6 ft on a concrete slab and cracked the glass said the device was still working after that. Who knows maybe there will be a battle-hardened version one day, frankly I don't expect more durability from such a mass consumer product.
 
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Jaybird180 said:
How did they get it to stabilize on the drop? Somehow they knew that it wouldn't land on the face (screen).
Click to expand...

They probably just put the butter on the back side! Everyone knows that toast always lands buttered side down. :D
 
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